Hart County commissioners approve second reading of revised Land Development ordinance after hours of debate

Commissioner Dorsey presented revisions to Chapter 46, the county’s Land Development ordinance, during the March 20 meeting of the Hart County Board of Commissioners, and the board voted to take the draft as a second reading after extensive discussion of lot sizes, road standards and protections for farmland.

The board approved taking the revised ordinance as the second reading by a 4‑1 vote, with Commissioner Bennett recorded in opposition. Commissioner Dorsey made the motion and Commissioner Teasley seconded it.

The draft contains several substantive changes discussed at length at the meeting. Among the principal edits: defining a county road or street to require a minimum 60‑foot right of way with 20 feet of paved width; raising the lot size threshold for Level 2 subdivisions; tightening ownership and transfer rules so approvals stay with the named owner during infrastructure construction; and making the pre‑application review by the county administrator mandatory…